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Lafayette ; the Faithful One. 



LECTURE 



Hon. CHARLES SUMI^ER. 




/ 

BOSTON: • 

WRIGHT & POTTER, PRINTERS, 79 MILK STREET, 
(Corner of Federal Street.) 

1870. 



LECTURE. 



Mr. President: 

I am to speak this evening of one who early consecrated 
himself to Human Rights, and, throughout a long life, became 
their representative, knight-errant, champion, hero, missionary, 
apostle — who strove in this cause as no man in history has ever 
striven — who suffered for it as few have suffered — and whose 
protracted career, beginning at an age when others are yet at 
school, and continued to the tomb where he tardily arrived, is 
conspicuous for the rarest fidelity, the purest principle and the 
most chivalrous courage, whether civil or military. There is but 
one personage to whom this description is justly applicable, and 
you have anticipated me when I pronounce the name of Lafay- 
ette. As in Germany Jean Paul is known as " the Only One," 
so would I haii Lafayette as " the Faithful One." If Liberty be 
what philosophy, poetry and the human heart all declare, then 
must we treasure the example of one who served her always 
with a lover's fondness and with a martyr's constancy ; nor 
expect perfections which do not belong to human nature. It 
is enough for unstinted gratitude that he stood forth her stead- 
fast friend, like the good angel — 

unmoved, 
Unshaken, unseduced, unterrified; — 

trampling on all the blandishments of youth, of fortune and of 
power, — keeping himself sternly aloof alike from King and 
Emperor, and always insisting upon the same comprehensive 
cause ; with a soul as fearless and irreproachable as Bayard, 
from whom generals and kings received knighthood ; as unbend- 
ing as Cato, who alone stood out against Cassar ; and as gentle 
as that best loved disciple, who leaned on the bosom of the 
Saviour, and alone of all the disciples followed him to the Cross. 

If anything could add to the interest which this unparalleled 
career is calculated to inspire, I should find it in special asso- 



ciations which I have enjoyed. Often, when in Paris halting 
about as an invalid, I turned from its crowded life to visit the 
simple tomb of Lafayette in the conventual cemetery of Picpus, 
watched by white-hooded nuns, within the circle of the old 
walls, where he lies by the side of his heroic wife, pattern of 
noblest womanhood. Gazing on this horizontal slab of red free- 
stone, in shape like that of Albert Durer in the republican 
graveyard of Nuremberg, bearing an inscription without title 
of any kind, and then casting my eyes upon the neighboring 
monuments, where every name had the blazon of prince or noble, 
I seemed to see before me that early, life-long and incomparable 
loyalty to a great cause with perfect consistency to the end, 
marking him as a phenomenon of history, which will be my 
theme to-night. The interest inspired at the republican tomb 
was strengthened at Lagrange, the country home of Lafayette, 
a possession derived from the family of his wife, where he 
passed the last thirty years of life in patriarchal simplicity, 
surrounded by children and grandchildren, with happy guests, 
and where everything still bears witness to him. 

Nor do I believe that my interest goes much beyond that of 
the American people, when I tliink how his name is a house- 
hold word, dear to all alike, old and young. Even the list of 
post-offices in the United States shows twenty-seven with the 
name of Lafayette, and eighteen with the name of Lagrange. 

Just before leaving France, on a clear and lovely day of 
October, in company with a friend I visited this famous seat. 
It is a picturesque and venerable castle, with five round towers, 
a moat, a drawbridge, an arched gateway, ivy-clad walls, and a 
large court-yard within, embosomed in trees except on one side, 
where a beautiful lawn spreads its verdure. Everything is 
historic. The castle itself is of great antiquity, supposed to 
have been built in the earliest days of the French monarchy, as 
far back as Louis le Gros. It had been tenanted by princes of 
Lorraine, and suffered from the cannon of Turenne, one of 
whose balls penetrated its thick masonry. The ivy which so 
luxuriantly mantled the gate with the tower by its side, was 
planted by the eminent British statesman, Charles Fox, on a 
visit during the brief peace of Amiens. The park owed much 
of its beauty to Lafayette himself. The situation harmonized 
with the retired habits which found shelter there from the storms 
of fortune. It is in the level district of La Brie, famous for its 
cheese, and stretching towards Champagne, famous for its wine 
— about forty-five miles to the east of Paris — riemote from any 
high-road, and at some distance from the railway recently 
opened through that neighborhood, in a country rich with 
orchards and smiling with fertility of all kinds. The estate 
immediately about the castle contains six hundred acres, which, 
in the time of Lafayette, was enlarged by several outlying 



farms. The well-filled library was an upper room in one of the 
towers, and at the window overlooking the farm-yard still stood 
the desk at which Lafayette was in the habit of sitting, with the 
speaking-trumpet by which he made himself heard in the yard, 
and with the account-book of the farm lying where he had 
left it. In every direction were souvenirs of our country, show- 
ing how it engaged his thoughts. The castle is now occupied 
by the family of one of his grandchildren, whose hospitable 
welcome to us as Americans, gave token of their illustrious an- 
cestor, hardly less than these precious memorials and the full- 
length portrait by Ary Scheifer which looked down from the 
walls. 

Holding up to view a model of surpassing fidelity in support 
of Human Rights, I am not without hope that others may see 
the beauty of such a character and try to make it in some 
measure their own. The day has not passed when we can be 
indifferent to such an influence. Our battle is not finished until 
Public Opinion is educated to keep faithful watch behind those 
new texts of law and Constitution, so that they shall be of vital 
force, never to be questioned or neglected. 

Gilbert de Metier, Marquis de Lafayette, only child of an an- 
cient house, was born 7th September, 1757, at the castle of Chav- 
aniac, in the central and mountainous province of Auvergne, in 
France. He came into the world an orphan, for his father, a 
colonel in the French army, had already perished at the battle 
of Minden. The verses which once interested Burns and ex- 
cited the youthful admiration of Scott, though suggested by a 
humbler lot, depict some of the circumstances which sur- 
rounded his : — 

Cold on Canadian Mils or 3£inden's plain, 
Perhaps that parent wept her soldier slain : 
Bent o'er her babe, her eye dissolved in dew, 
The big drops mingling with the milk he drew.* 

The mother died soon after, leaving her child alone in the 
world, with rank and fortune such as few possess. 

In his memoirs written with his own hand, Lafayette men- 
tions simply his birth, without allusion to family or ancestry. 
This was characteristic of one who had so completely re- 
nounced all such distinctions. But the temptations he over- 
came and the prejudices he encountered can be fully appre- 
ciated only when we know his origin. His family was not 
merely ancient and noble, but for generations historic. It 

* Langhorne's Poems, The Country Justice, Introduction. See also 
Lockhart's Life of Scott, Vol. I, chap. v. 



6' 

had given to French renown a Marshal, who after honorable 
service in Italian campaigns, fought by the side of the Maid 
of Orleans in the expulsion of the English from France, and 
it had added to the more refined glories of the nation an 
authoress of that name, the friend of Rochfoucault and Madame 
de Sdvign^, who shone by literary genius at the court of 
Louis the Fourteenth, and became an early example of what 
woman may accomplish, — so that the young orphan bore a 
name, which, in a land of hereditary distinctions, seemed to 
enlist him for their conservation, while it gave him everywhere 
an all-sufficient passport. 

But as some are born poets and some are born mathemati- 
cians, the Marquis de Lafayette was born with an instinctive 
fidelity to the great principles of Liberty and Equality, by the 
side of which all hereditary distinctions disappear. Liberty, 
he had the habit of saying, was with him a religion, a love, and 
a geometrical certainty ; and this passion, thus sacred, ardent 
and confident, was inborn, perpetual and irresistible. While 
still a child in the seclusion of Avivergne, he sighed for dan- 
gerous adventure, and when at the age of eleven he was trans- 
ferred to college at Paris, the soul of the young noble re- 
sponded instinctively to all instances of republican virtue. In 
the child may be seen the man, and he delighted afterwards 
to remember that in those early years, when the heart showed 
itself as it was, in a school exercise describing " the perfect 
horse," he lost the prize by picturing the noble animal as 
throwing his rider at the sight of the whip. Nor did his ardent 
nature express itself in superficial sallies. At every period of 
life and particularly in youth, he was grave and silent even to 
coldness, thus in external manner differing from the giddy and 
ostentatious nobles of his day, as he contrasted with them in 
character. 

An early marriage, at the age of sixteen, with the beautiful 
daughter of the ducal house of Noaiiles enlarged his aristo- 
cratic connections and completed all that heart could desire 
for happiness or worldly advancement. But the life of a cour- 
tier, even with the companionship of royal princes, did not 
satisfy his earnest nature, and he turned away from the gran- 
deurs and follies of Yersailles to follow in the steps of his 
father as captain in the French army. Stationed at Metz, a 
border fortification on the Rhenish frontier of France, an inci- 
dent occurred which gave impulse and direction to his life. 

Tiic Duke of Gloucester, brother of King George the Third, 
smarting under slights at court on account of a marriage disa- 
greeable to the king, turned his back upon England, and in his 
travels stopped at Metz, where he was welcomed at dinner by 
the commander of the garrison. At that table sat the youthful 
Lafayette, only nineteen years old, who there for the first time 



heard the story of the American " insurgents," as they were 
called, — of their armed resistance to British troops, — and of 
the Declaration of Independence. His whole nature was 
thrilled, and the passionate declamation against arbitrary power 
to which the English Duke gave vent, though stirred only by 
wounded pride and spite, fell like a spark upon his sincere and 
sensitive soul, already kindling with generous emotions, so that 
before the dinner was ended, his resolution was fixed to cross 
the ocean and offer his sword to distant, unknown fellow-men 
struggling for liberty. This was in the autumn of 177§.* 
Hastening back to Paris, he lost no time in engaging with 
the American Commissioners there, who with grateful aston- 
ishment welcomed their romantic ally. 

Meanwhile came tidings of the melancholy reverses, which 
followed the Declaration of Independence, and of the scanty 
forces of Washington tracking the snow with bloody feet, as 
they retreated through New Jersey — seeming to announce that 
all was lost. The American Commissioners frankly confessed 
that they could not encourage Lafayette to proceed with his 
purpose. But his undaunted temper was quickened anew, and 
when they told him that with their damaged credit, it was 
impossible to provide a vessel for his conveyance, then he 
exclaimed : " Thus far you have seen my zeal only ; now it 
shall be something more. I will purchase and equip a vessel 
myself. It is while danger presses that I wish to join your 
fortunes." Noble words, worthy of immortality, and never to 
be heard without a throb by an American heart ! 

At his expense the vessel was found ; but while its equip- 
ment proceeded, Lafayette, partly to mask his enterprise and 
also in the hardihood of courage, visited England, where his 
wife's uncle, the French ambassador, presented him to George 
the Third, who, unconscious,of his purpose, said, — " I hope you 
mean to stay some time in Britain," to which Lafayette answered 
that it was not in his power. " What obliges you to leave us ? " 
asked the king. " Please your Majesty " said Lafayette, " I 
have a very particular engagement, and if your Majesty were 
aware of it, you would not desire me to stay." During this 
visit everything was open to the youthful soldier, and he was 
even invited to attend the review of British troops about to 
embark for America. From instinctive delicacy he declined, 
thinking it would not be right to take adva#itage of a hos- 
pitable invitation to inspect troops against whom he was about 
to array himself in war. " But," he added in relating this 
incident, " I met them six months after at the Brandywine." 

Leaving England he traversed France with secrecy and 
despatch to join his vessel, which was at a Spanish port beyond 

* Graham's History of the United States, Vol. IV, p. 410. 



8 

French jurisdiction. His departure came like a bolt upon the 
English Court, which he had just left, also upon the French 
Court which was not yet prepared for a break with England, 
and upon his most affectionate family, who were planning for 
him a tour in Italy, which in his busy life he never made ; but 
his young wife, who suffered most, loved him too well not to par- 
take his sentiments and to approve his generous resolution, even 
though it separated him from her. Among illustrations of the 
sensation produced, I quote the words of the historian Gibbon in 
a l^ter dated 12th April, 1777 : " We talk chiefly of the Marquis 
de Lafayette, who was here a few weeks ago. He is about twenty, 
with a hundred and thirty thousand livres a year, and is gone 
to join the Americans." His family interfered by peremptory 
commands, and the French Government interfered by the arbi- 
trary mandate, under the seal of the king, known as lettre de 
cachet^ — but disregarding the one and evading the other, in the 
disguise of a courier, our devoted ally traversed the Pyrenees 
and soon found himself with his companions in arms on board 
the vessel he had engaged, which, on the 26th of April, 1777, 
set sail for America. 

Undertaking this enterprise at a time when the sea and all 
beyond were little known, the youthful adventurer showed a 
heart of " triple oak." Our admiration is enhanced, when 
we recall the charms of family, rank and country left be- 
hind, — with the perils of capture and war braved even before 
reaching the land, — and especially when we contemplate the 
motive in which this enterprise had its origin. Rarely has 
hero gpne forth on so beautiful an errand ; for he carried 
words of cheer to our fathers, then in despairing struggle for 
the great Declaration, and opened the way for those fleets and 
armies of France, soon after marshalled on our side ; nor is it 
too much to say, that he was the good angel of Independence. 
His family correspondence, which has seen the light only since 
his death, exhibits his beautiful fidelity and the completeness of 
his dedication to our cause. In a letter to his distinguished 
father-in-law, announcing his purpose, he says of American in- 
terests that they " will always be more dear than his own," and 
then declares himself at the height of joy in finding " so fine 
an occasion to do something and to improve himself."* In a 
letter to his wife, written on the voyage, under date of 7th June, 
1777,t his sympjfcthy with the great objects of the national con- 
test is tenderly revealed. " I hope for my sake " he writes, in 
words worthy of everlasting memory, " that you will become a 
good American. This is a sentiment proper for virtuous hearts. 
Intimately allied to the happiness of the whole Human Family 

* Meraoires du G6n6ral Lafayette, Tome I, p. 83. 
t Ibid, p. 89. 



is that of America, destined to become the respectable and sure 
asylum of virtue, honesty, toleration, equality and of a tran- 
quil liberty." For seven weeks laboring through the sea, yet 
sustained by thoughts like these, he at last arrived on the coast 
of South Carolina. It was already dark, but, pushing ashore 
in a boat and following the guidance of a light, he found him- 
self under a friendly roof. His first word as he touched the 
land was, a vow to conquer or perish with it. 

His instant desire was to report himself to the Continental 
Congress then sitting at Philadelphia, and, preserving a discreet 
silence on his plans, he started without delay. Most of the 
way on horseback for nine hundred miles, he journeyed on, 
enjoying the country in its native freshness and the simple cor- 
dial welcome which greeted him everywhere on the road. 
" The further North I advance," thus he wrote to his wife,* 
" the more I like this country and its people." He had already 
been struck by what he mildly calls " the black domestics who 
came tg ask his orders."! Then for the first time he looked 
upon a slave. His well known sentiments, so constantly de- 
clared, show clearly how his candid nature must have been 
troubled. He had forsaken France where, amidst gross ine- 
qualities of condition this grossest was unknown, — where in 
tlie descending ranks of the feudal hierarchy, there was no 
place for this degradation, — where, amidst unjust taxes and 
injurious privileges without number, every man had a right at 
least to his child, to his wife and to himself, — and where the 
boast went forth as in England and was repeated by judicial 
tribunals, that the air was too pure for a slave. With angelic 
generosity he had turned away from his own country to help 
the cause of Freedom in another hemisphere, and here he 
found man despoiled of all personal riglits and even degraded 
to be property by those whose own struggles merely for politi- 
cal rights had thrilled the fibres of his being. Youthful and 
little schooled as yet in the world, he must have recoiled in- 
stinctively as this most dismal and incomprehensible inconsist- 
ency appeared before him. How faithfully he battled with it 
his life will show. 

Arrived in Philadelphia, he announced that he had come to 
serve at his own expense and as volunteer. The Continental 
Congress, touched by the magnanimous devotion of the youth- 
ful stranger and apprized of his distinguished connections at 
home, appointed him without delay Major-General in the army 
of the United States, where he took rank by the side of Gates 
and Greene, Lincoln and Lee. Born to exalted condition in an 
ancient monarchy, he found himself welcomed to the highest 

* July 17, 1777; Memoires, Tome I, p. 98. 
t Ibid., p. 16, note. 



10 

place ill the military councils of a struggling Republic, — and 
this while still a youth under twenty, younger than Fox, 
younger than Pitt, when they astonished the world by their 
precocious parliaoilntary powers, — younger than Conde in his 
own beautiful France on the field of Rocroi. And his modesty 
was not less eminent than his post. To Washington, who 
made apologies for exhibiting his troops before a French officer, 
he replied with interesting simplicity, " I have come here to 
learn and not to teach." The Commander-in-Chief, usually so 
grave, was won at once to that perpetual friendship, which 
endured unbroken as long as life, shovs ing itself now in tears 
of joy and then in tears of grief; watching the youthful stran- 
ger with paternal care, — sharing with him table, tent, and on 
the field of Monmouth the same cloak for a couch, — following 
his transcendent fortunes, now on giddiest heights and then in 
gloom, with constant, unabated attachment, — corresponding 
with him at all times, — addressing him in terms of unwonted 
endearment as " the man he loved,"* and saying again that he 
" had not words to express his affection were he to attempt it,"t 
— sending kindly sympathy to that devoted wife in her unpar- 
alleled affliction, and pleading across sea and continent with the 
Austrian despot for his release from the dungeons of Olmutz. 

It is much to have inspired the most tender friendship which 
history records in the life of Washington. There were other 
strangers, scarcely less brilliant than Lafayette, — among whom 
was Kosciusko, the Pole, who afterwards played so great a part 
in his own country, — Steuben, the German, who did so much 
for the discipline of our troops, — De Kalb, the gallant sol- 
dier who died for us at Camden, — Rochambeau, the distin- 
guished commander of the French forces, compeer with Wash- 
ington at Yorktown, — Lauzun, the sparkling courtier, whose 
fascinations were acknowledged by Marie Antoinette, — S^gur, 
the high-bred youthful soldier and future diplomatist, — Mon- 
tesquieu, grandson of the immortal author of the " Spirit 
of Laws," — St. Simon, whose military and ancestral honors 
are now lost in his fame as social reformer, — also the unfor- 
tunate Count de Lomenie, with the Prince de Broglie of the 
old monarchy, and Berthier, afterwards a prince of the Empire. 
All these were in our revolutionary contest gathered about 
Washington ; but Lafayette alone obtained place in his heart. 
Friendship is always a solace and delight ; but such a friendship 
was a testimony. Let it ever be said that Washington chose 
Lafayette as friend, while Lafayette was to him always pupil, 
disciple, son. 

♦ Washington's Writings, by Sparks, Vol. VIII, p. 225. 
t Vol. IX, p. 78. See also Mumoires, Tome I, p. 62, note. 



11 

His intrepidity found early occasion for display at the battle 
of the Brandywine, where in attempt to rally the retreating 
troops, he was severely wounded in the leg, and, thus at once, 
by suffering in our cause, increased his titles to regard. As he 
became known, his simple and bountiful nature awakened the 
attachment of officers and men, so that in writing to his wife 
he was able to relieve her anxieties, by saying, that he had " the 
friendship of the army in gross and in detail ; "* and also 
what he calls " a tender union with the most respectable, the 
most admirable of men. General Washington." Nor was this 
unnatural when we consider how completely he became American 
in dress, food and habits, as he was already American in heart. 
Avoiding no privation or fatigue, this juvenile patrician, educated 
to indulgence in all the forms that wealth and privilege could 
supply, showed himself more frugal and more austere even than 
his republican associates, living sometimes for months on a 
single ration. The confidence of Congress soon followed, and 
by special resolution, Washington was requested to place him 
at the head of an independent command. 

Meanwhile France was openly enlisted on our side. Turgot, 
the philosopher, and Necker, the financier, counselled, as far- 
sighted ministers, against this step which launched the ancient 
monarchy in a dangerous career. Jealous of a rival power, 
smarting under recent reverses, and brooding over the accumu- 
lated rancors of long generations, the Court was willing to em- 
barrass England, yet covertly and without the hazard of open 
war. The King himself never sympathized with the American 
cause. But Public Opinion, which in that nation inclines to 
generous ideas, was moved by the news of a distant people 
waging a contest for Human Rights, at first doubtful, and then 
suddenly illumined by the victory of Saratoga ; while Frank- 
lin, the philosopher and diplomatist, our unequalled represen- 
tative at Paris, challenged the admiration alike of the grave 
and the gay, and the example of Lafayette touched the heart 
of France. All these wrought so far, that Court and King were 
obliged to bend before the popular will, and to make that Treaty 
of Alliance with the Colonies by which their place in the Family 
of Nations was assured. The Treaty was communicated to 
the British Court, with a remark referring Independence to the 
Declaration of the 4th July, on which Lafayette, with his con- 
stant instinct for popular rights, exclaimed, " Here is a princi- 
ple of national sovereignty which will some day be recalled at 
home."! Of course, if Americans could become independent 
by a Declaration, so could Frenchmen. 

The duties of a Frenchman were now superadded to the 
duties Lafayette had assumed towards our cause. " As long," 

* Memoires, Tome I, pp. 119, 133. 
t Ibid., p. 70. 



12 

said he, in a letter to Congress, " as I thought I could dispose 
of myself, I made it my pride and pleasure to fight under 
American colors in defence of a cause which I dare more partic- 
ularly to call ours, because I had the good fortune to bleed for 
it. Now that France is involved in war I owe her my services, 
but whether present or absent, I shall never fail in zeal for the 
United States." Congress responded by an unlimited leave of 
absence, with permission to return at his own convenient time ; 
and by a vote of grateful thanks, together with a letter to the 
French King, wherein they said, " We recommend this young 
nobleman to your Majesty's notice, as one whom we know to be 
wise in council, gallant in the field and patient under the hard- 
ship of war." Never before did Frenchman return from 
service abroad with such a letter to his king. 

On his way to embark at Boston, he was attacked by a fever, 
which in its violence seemed about to prevail, so that Washing- 
ton watched the daily bulletin of the physician " with tears in 
his eyes," and it was reported at one time that " the soldier's 
friend," as he was called, had died.* But he was happily spared 
to his two countries, and to the affection of his commander. Al- 
ways true to Liberty, he would not allow the crew of the frig- 
ate, waiting for him at Boston, to be filled up by impressment, 
— thus in all things guarding the rights of the people. f 

If the sensation in Europe caused by his departure had been 
great, that caused by his return, after two years of brilliant 
service, with eminent military rank, with the thanks of Con- 
gress, and the friendship of Washington, was greater far. He 
could not appear anywhere without greetings of admiration 
which knew no bounds, while, to borrow his own account, he 
was " consulted by all the ministers, and what is much better, 
kissed by all the women.":): In a journey which he made to 
his estate, the towns through which he passed honored him with 
processions and civic pomp. But his distant friends, struggling 
for the great Declaration, were never out of his mind. Accus- 
tomed to large interests sustained by small means, he regretted 
each fete even in his own honor as a diversion of supplies which 
would have equipped the poorly provided American army, and 
his zeal went so far as to make the Prime Minister, M. de Mau- 
repas, declare that for this cause Lafayette would strip Versailles 
of its furniture. Such an influence, so sincere and so constant 
from one who spoke, not only as a French noble, but as a Major- 
General of the American army, was not without result. The 
papers of Lafayette attest the ability with which he pressed 
upon the French government an active participation in the 

* Memoires, Tome I, pp. 62, 63. 

t Ibid. 

X Ibid., Tome I, p. 65. 



13 

contest, and especially prompted the decisive expedition of 
Rochambeau. 

But he did not loiter at home. Soon he turned from coun- 
try and family. Again he crossed the sea, and this time 
landed at Boston, for which, at a later day, he recorded a" pre- 
dilection,"* chiefly, it appears, because there were no slaves 
there, and all were equal, although at one time " some of the 
inhabitants seemed ill-disposed. "f The hearts of the people 
everywhere throbbed with welcome ; the army partook of this 
delight, and Washington now " shed tears of joy."| The re- 
publican sentiments which animated him were attested by the 
present of a flag to one of our battalions, with a simple wreath 
of laurel blending with a civic crown, and the words beneath, 
No other. Then commenced the second part of his American 
career, — his active military service, — his command in Virginia, 
— his campaign against Cornwallis, when the latter said tri- 
umphantly, " Tlie boy shall not escape me," and his cooperation 
in the final assault at Yorktown, ending in the capitulation of 
the British commander to the combined forces of America and 
France, all of which belongs to the history of both countries. 

The campaign in Virginia redounded to the praise of Lafay- 
ette in no common measure. After announcing his designation 
for this service, and saying that " the command of the troops 
in that State cannot be in better hands," Washington pro- 
ceeds : — 

"He possesses uncommon military talents; is of a quick and 
sound judgment; persevering and enterprising without rashness; 
and besides these, he is of a very conciliating temper and perfectly 
sober, — which are qualities that rarely combine in the same person. 
And were I to add that some men will gain as much experience in 
the course of thi-ee or four years as some others will in ten or a 
dozen, you cannot deny the fact and attack me upon that ground."§ 

Madison wrote at the time that " his having baffled and 
finally reduced to the defensive so powerful an army as we now 
know he had to contend with, and with so disproportionate a 
force, would have done honor to the most veteran officer." 
The General Assembly of Virginia, by solemn resolution, con- 
ceived in the warmest terms of affection and applause, acknowl- 
edged " his many great and important services to this Common- 
wealth in particular, and through it to the United States in 
general," and tendered to him therefor " the grateful thanks 
of the free representatives of a free people." Tiiey also 

* Meraoires, Tome V., p. 71, Lettrc a Madame de Lafayette, 5 Aout, 1799. 

t Ibid , Tome I, p. 205. Lettre a Washington, 1 Sept.," 1778. 

j Ibid., Tome I, p. 259. 

§ Eives's Life and Times of James Madison, Vol. I, p. 294:, note. 



14 

directed a marble bust of him " as a lasting monument of his 
merit and of their gratitude." Tliis judgment was sanctioned 
by the highest authorities, including Washington.* A recent 
author adds to this testimony by speaking of the campaign as 
" masterly," and then characterizes it as " the most brilliant as 
well as the most successful part of his whole career." f But 
this judgment strangely forgets that life-long loyalty to Human 
Rights which in itself is a campaign beyond any in war. 

Grim-visaged war now smoothed its wrinkled front, and, 
in the lull which ensued after the surrender of Cornwallis, 
Lafayette returned again to France, with the renewed thanks 
of Congress, and with added trusts. Our ministers abroad 
were instructed to consult him. The youthful soldier was 
changed into the more youthful diplomatist ; nor was he less 
efficient in the new field. His presence alone was for our 
country an Embassy. Through him the haughty Spanish Court 
was approached, and gigantic forces were gathered at Cadiz for 
an expedition in the common cause. At the same time his repub- 
lican character Was so far recognized, that the Spanish mon- 
arch, anticipating the capture of Jamaica, exclaimedj " Lafay- 
ette must not be its governor, as he would make it a republic. "J 
Great Britain bowed before the storm and signed the Treaty of 
Peace, by which American Lidependence was recognized. It 
was fit that this great news should reach Congress through our 
greatest benefactor. It was first known by a letter from Lafay- 
ette, dated at Cadiz^ 3th February, 1783, so that he who had 
espoused our cause in its gloom became the herald of its final 
triumph. 

But another letter, bearing date the same day, and forwarded 
by the same vessel, with that announcing the glad tidings, 
opens another duty which already occupied his inmost soul. 
Thus he writes to Washington, under date of Cadiz, 5th Feb- 
ruary, 1783, § and the remarkable co-incidence of dates shows 
how closely he associated the rights of the African slave with 
our own National Independence. 

" Now, my dear General, since you are about to taste repose, per- 
mit me to propose a plan which may become largely useful to the 
colored portion of the Human race. Let us join in the purchase of a 
small property where we can make an experiment of emancipating 

* Eives's Life and Times of James Madison, Vol. I, pp. 289, 290. 

t Ibid. A person, wlio, after enjoying the honors of the nation, as Sen- 
ator and as Minister to France, could become a pro-slavery rebel was in- 
competent to sit in judgment on Lafayette. In declaring " tjie comparative 
nullity " of his career at home, " contrasted with the unquestionable splen- 
dor of his American services and deeds," he writes as a slave-master, 
whose standard of merit excludes what is done for Liberty and Equality. 

X Mumoires, Tome II, p. 4. 

§ Ibid., Tome II, p. 58. 



15 

the negroes, and of employing them simply as farm laborers. Such 
an example given by you would be generally followed, and if we 
should succeed in America, I would with joy consecrate part of my 
time to extend it in the West Indies. If this is a strange project, I 
prefer to be foolish in this way rather than by opposite conduct to 
be considered wise." 

As if this great proposition were not enough, Lafayette, in 
the same letter, calls upon Washington to employ himself " in 
inducing the people of America to strengthen the Federal 
Union," saying, " it is a work in which it behooves you to be 
concerned ; I look upon it as a necessary measure."* Thus 
were Emancipation and Union conjoint in his regard. 

At the date of this letter, Lafayette was not yet twenty-six 
years of age, and now one struggle ended, he begins another 
greater still, or rather he gives to the first its imtural develop- 
ment, and shows how truly he accepts the truths declared 
by our Fathers. Others might hesitate ; he does not. In these 
few words addressed to Washington, will be seen the same 
spirit which inspired him originally to enlist for us, — the same 
instinctive love of Liberty, — the same self-sacrifice, — the same 
generosity, — the same nobleness expressed with affecting sim- 
plicity and frankness. Valuable as is this testimony for the 
African race, it is also precious in illustration of that re- 
markable character, which, from the beginning was guided 
by no transient spirit of adventure, but by a sentiment almost 
divine for Human Rights. In this light his original consecra- 
tion to our cause assumes new dignity, while American Inde- 
pendence becomes but a stage in the triumphs of that Liberty 
which is the common birthright of all mankind. If Fox was 
a hoy-debater, as he has been called, then was Lafayette a hoy- 
hero, — and hero of Humanity he continued to the end. 

During the next year, at the pressing invitation of Washing- 
ton, he again crossed the ocean to enjoy the peaceful prosperity 
of the country whose government he had helped to found by 
services in war and in diplomacy. The adopted child of the 
Republic, he surrendered himself for six months to the sympa- 
thies of the people, the delights of friendship, and the compan- 
ionship of Washington, whom he visited at Mount Vernon, and 
with whom he/journeyed. But far more than all, — the Slavery 
of the African race had interested his heart, and he could not 
be silent. In official answers to addresses of welcome from 
Legislatures of Southern States, he openly declared his desire 
to see these Legislatures commence the work of Abolition. f 

* Letters to Washington, Sparks, Vol. Ill, p. 547 ; Momoires, Tome II, 
p. 58. 

t Memoires, Tome II, p. 8. Madison, writing to Jeflerson, under date of 
Oct. 17, 1784, says : " The time I have passed with the Marquis has given 
me a pretty thorough insight into his character. With great natural frank- 



16 

This was in 1784, before Clarkson, then a youth at the Uni- 
versity, was inspired to write his Essay against Slavery, which 
was the glorious beginning of his life-long career, and before 
Wilberforce brought forward his memorable motion in the 
British Parliament for the abolition of the slave trade. If these 
words were of little effect at that early day, they none the less 
bear witness to the exalted spirit of their author. At last, in 
taking leave of Congress, as he was about to embark, he let 
drop other words, exhibiting the same spirit, wherein may be 
seen the mighty shadow of the Future. " May this great 
temple," he said, " which we have just erected to Liberty, al- 
%vays be a lesson to oppressors^ an example to the oppressed, a 
refuge for the rights of the human race, and an object of delight 
to the departed souls of its founders." Such utterance by 
a French noble, tells that the Revolution was approaching. 

Returned td Europe, he sought constant opportunities to 
promote our interests ; writing especially of Jefferson, our Min- 
ister at Paris, that he was " happy to be his aide-decamp." 
Nor did he confine his exertions to France. Traversing Ger- 
many, from Brunswick to Vienna, he was everywhere a wel- 
come guest, now with the Emperor, and now with the King of 
Prussia, who was the famous Frederick, sometimes called the 
Great ; described by Lafayette, in a picture worthy of a Dutch 
artist, as " an old, decrepit and dirty corporal, all covered with 
Spanish snuff, the head almost resting on one shoulder, and fin- 
gers almost dislocated by the gout."* Cornwallis of Yorktown, 
who was there as a visitor also, confessed that in Silesia his own 
reception was less flattering than that of Lafayette. But wher- 
ever the hero appeared, our concerns, whether political or com- 
mercial, were still present to his thoughts. At the table of Fred- 
erick he vindicated American institutions, and especially an- 
swered doubts with regard to the " strength of the Union," 
which he upheld always as a fundamental condition of national 
prosperity. He confidently looked to our Lidependence as the 
fruitful parent of a new order of ages, being that rightful self- 
government which is above all hereditary power, whether of 
kings or nobles, and which he proudly called the American Era. 

His heart was ever intent on projects of Human Lnprove- 
ment. Aroused by the disabilities of Protestants in France, 
amounting to absolute outlawry, sad heritage of that fatal 
measure, the revocation of the edict of Nantes, Lafayette, 

ness lie unites much address and very considerable talents. In his politics, 
he saj-s his three hol)l)y-horses are the alliance betAveen Trance and the 
United States, the union of the latter and the uiauumission of the slaves." 
(Madison's "Writings, Vol. I, p. 106.) Call these liobby-horses ! They were 
three practical policies, having their foundation iu everlasting principles. 
IIow many of our own statesmen saw as wisely. 
* Memoires, Tome II, p. 131. 



17 

though a Catholic himself, entered into earnest efforts for their 
liberation, and thus enrolled himself among champions of 
religious freedom. At the same time his opposition to African 
slavery assumed a practical form. Washington acknowledged 
his appeal from Cadiz, of 5th February, 1783, but unhappily 
deferred action.* Lafayette went forward alone. At an expense 
of 125,000 francs, he purchased a plantation of slaves in the 
French Colony of Cayenne, that by emancipation he might try 
the great experiment of Free Labor, and set an example to 
mankind.! The spirit of this enterprise may be seen in the cir- 
cumstance that his agent from Paris began by collecting all 
the slave-whips and other instruments of punishment and 
burning them in the presence of the slaves. This was in 1785, 
two years after the proposition to Washington, who, on learning 
its execution, thus complimented his more than disciple : — J 

" The goodness of your heart, my dear Marquis, is evident in all 
circumstances, and I am not surprised when you give new proofs of 
it. Your late acquisition of a plantation in Cayenne in order to 
emancipate slaves, is a generous and noble proof of your humanity. 
May it please God that a similar spirit should animate all the peo- 
ple of this country. But I despair of seeing it." 

Had Washington united at that time with Lafayette there 
would have been an example, rather than a despairing aspira- 
tion, of untold value to our country. 

While organizing Emancipation in the distant colony of 
Cayenne, Lafayette gave furtlier evidence to his American 
friends. The following brief note to Alexander Hamilton is a 
gem of character : — 

" Paris, April 13, 1785. 
" My Dear Hamilton, — In one of your New York gazettes, I 
find an association against the slavery of negroes^ which seems to 
me worded in such a way as to give no offence to the moderate 
men in the Southern States. As I ever have been partial to my 
brethren of that color, I wish, if you are one in the society, you 
would move, in your own name, for my being admitted on the list. 
" Your affectionate friend, 

"Lafayette." 

How much in little. The testimony is plain. The witness 
is a volunteer. In simple words, he records himself once 
more " against the slavery of negroes," and then declares that 
he has ever been " partial to his brethren of that color." For 

* Washington's "Writings, Sparks, Vol. VIII, p. 414. Letter of 5th April, 
1783 ; Mumoires, Tome II, p. 74. 
■ t Meraoires, Tome II, p. 9. Tome III, p. 72. 

X Washington's Writings, Vol. IX, p. 169. Letter of 10th May, 1780. 
3 



18 

him the degraded slave is brother, although of a color not his 
own. 

That great event was now near which, beginning in a 
claim of rights denied, and inspired by generous ideas, was 
destined, amidst falling privileges and toppling thrones, to let 
loose the most direful furies of discord and war, — to feed the 
scaffold with the blood of King and Queen, and of good men in 
all the ranks of life, — to lift the nation to unknown heights of 
audacity and power, — to dash back the hosts of foreign inva- 
sion as the angry surge from the rock, — to achieve victory on 
a scale of grandeur never witnessed since the eagles of Cassar 
passed from Britain to Egypt, — and finally, to mark a new epoch 
in the history of the Human Family. The French Revolution was 
at hand. It was foreshadowed in the writings of philosophers, 
in the gradual march of Human Progress, in the wide-spread 
influence of the American Revolution, in the growing instincts 
of the people, and the obvious injustice of existing things, — 
and it was begun in the example of Lafayette. Of all men, he 
was its natural leader, just so long as it continued moderate 
and humane. Alas ! that such a cause, so beautiful in itself 
and so grand in its promises, should have been wrested from its 
original character by the passions of men ! 

The initial step was the Assembly of the Notables, 22d 
February, 1787, brought together now for the first time since 
its convocation to serve the arbitrary rule of Cardinal Riche- 
lieu. There sat the two brothers of the king, all the princes of 
the blood, archbishops, bishops, dukes, peers, the chancellor, 
high officials of the magistracy and distinguished nobles, con- 
voked by the King in the interest of his crown. But the people 
had no representative there ; Lafayette became their representa- 
tive. As he had formerly drawn his sword, so now he raised 
his voice for popular rights ; nor was he deterred by the courtly 
presence. Startled by his boldness, the Count d'Artois, after- 
wards Charles the Tenth, attempted to call him to order, as 
acting on subjects not before the Assembly. " We are sum- 
moned," said Lafayette, " to make the truth known to his 
Majesty. I must discharge my duty." He proceeded, and 
here you see how the great tragedy opened. 

By formal propositions, sustained by well-considered reasons, 
he called for : 

1. Removal of Protestant disabilities, and complete establish- 
ment of religious toleration. 

2. Equality of imposts, and suppression of certain unjust 
taxes. 

3. Abolition of all arbitrary imprisonment, and especially 
the odious lettre de cachet. 

4. Revision of the criminal laws. 



19 

5. Economy in the royal household, pensions, and all the 
departments of Government. 

Following these moderate demands he made a " motion "* — 
the first time, it is said, this parliamentary word, so suggestive 
of liberal discussion, was ever used in France — and this motion 
was for nothing less than the convocation of a National Assem- 
bly — launching here two other momentous words, which were 
then and there for the first time pronounced. " What I " ex- 
claimed the Count d'Artois, " do you demand the States Gen- 
eral ? " " Yes, and even more," was the reply of Lafayette. 

The States General were convened in May, 1789, at Ver- 
sailles, in the very shadow of that palace where, in latter years, 
the kings and courtiers of the French Monarchy had lived like 
the gods of Olympus, and at once this ancient body took the 
name of National Assembly. Here appeared the imposing fig- 
ure of Mirabeau, demanding, in the name of the people, that 
the troops should be removed. By his side was the yet youth- 
ful Lafayette, seconding the demand, which he followed by pro- 
posing a Declaration of the Rights of Man, embodying not 
merely specific rights, secured by precedent and practice, as in 
the English Bill of Rights, but the Rights of Man founded on 
Nature, and above all precedent or practice. Such a state- 
ment was known in our country. It constitutes part of the 
Declaration of Independence, and also of the Constitution of 
Massachusetts, giving character to each, but it was now for the 
first- time put forth in Europe, illustrating that American Era 
which Lafayette constantly proclaimed. Its importance was 
immense. It supplied at once a touchstone for all wrongs and 
elevated the hearts of the people. It began as follows : — 

" Nature has made men free and equal. Every man is born with 
rights inalienable and imprescriptible ; such are the liberty of his 
opinions, the right of property, the uncontrolled disposal of his per- 
son, his industry and all his foculties ; the communication of all his 
thoughts by all possible means ; the pursuit of happiness, and the 
resistance to oppression." 

In launching this Declaration, Lafayette, after calling to 
mind the sentiments which nature has engraved on the heart 
of every citizen, and wliich take new force when solemnly rec- 
ognized by all, announced that " for a nation to love liberty, it 
is sufficient that she knows it, and to be free it is sufficient 
that she wills it." The Declaration of Rights, presented 11th 
July, 1789, was a victory whose influence can never die. It 
redounded immediately to the glory of Lafayette. Lally Tol- 
lendal, after declaring the ideas " grand and majestic," said that 

* Lady Morgan's France, Vol. I, p. 71. Ticknor's Outlines of Life of La- 
fayette, p. 9. 



m 

their author " speaks of Liberty as he has ah'eady defended it." 
These were words of sympathy. Already the Archbishop of 
Sens had remarked in the councils of the King, that " Lafayette 
is the most dangerous of antagonists, as his politics are all in 
action." 

A few days later, the Bastile, at once fortress and prison, 
where for four hundred years the lawless will of arbitrary 
power had buried its victims in a living tomb, was levelled to 
the ground by the people of Paris, and with it fell the ancient 
Monarchy. Elated by success, the people looked for a leader, 
and found him in the author of the Declaration of the Rights 
of Man. Amidst heartfelt applause Lafayette was placed at 
the head of the embodied militia of the metropolis, which, 
under his auspices, was organized as the National Guard. 
Thus far champion of Liberty, it was now his part to maintain 
order, and never was this work more conscientiously pursued. 
The colors of Paris were blue and red, but his spirit of concil- 
iation was shown by adding to them white, which was the an- 
cient color of France, thus out of these three forming that 
famous tricolor, which he then proudly proclaimed was destined 
" to make the tour of the world." Strong in the popularity which 
he enjoyed, he shrank from none of the responsibilities of his per- 
ilous post, sometimes braving the popular fury, and sometimes 
the steel of the assassin, — unharmed himself, treading calmly 
the burning ploughshares of civil strife, — throwing over all 
the shield of his protection, and by chivalrous intervention at 
Versailles saving King and Queen from an infuriate mob ; but 
always telling the King that, if his majesty separated his cause 
from that of the people, he should remain with the people ; of 
all which there are details written in blood. 

Though engrossed by his duties as Commander of the 
National Guard, Lafayette did not neglect his other duties 
as representative of the people. In the Assembly he boldly 
proclaimed the right of resistance to tyranny, saying, " Where 
Slavery prevails the most sacred of duties is insurrection, 
and where Liberty prevails obedience to the laws." He 
called for Trial by Jury, — liberty of worship, — the rights of 
colored people in the colonies, — the suppression of^all privi- 
leges, — the abolition of the nobility itself. To one who asked 
how, after the abolition of titles, they would replace the words 
" ennobled for having saved the State on a particular day " he 
said in reply, " simply by declaring that on the day named the 
person in question had saved the State." The proposition pre- 
vailed, and from that time this sincere and upright citizen laid 
down his own time-honored title, borne by his family for succes- 
sive generations, and was known only as Lafayette. And 
otherwise he gave testimony by example, — accepting the honor- 
ary command of the National Guard formed by colored men, 



21 

although he refused this distinction from other guards out 
of Paris,* and entertaining colored men in the uniform of the 
National Guard at his dinner table, where Clarkson, the English 
abolitionist, met them in 1790. 

Beyond question he was now the most exalted citizen of 
France, — centre of all eyes, all hopes and all fears, — hold- 
ing in his hand the destinies of King and people. Rarely has 
such eminence been achieved. Never has such eminence been 
so honestly won, as never has it been surrounded by responsi- 
bilities so appalling. There was nothing of office, honor or 
power, which was not within his reach, while peril of all kinds 
lay in wait for him or sat openly in his path. But he was indif- 
ferent alike to temptation and to danger. Emoluments in 
whatsoever form he rejected, saying that he attached no more 
importance to the rejection than to the acceptance. Field Mar- 
slial, Grand Constable, Lieutenant General of thekingdom, Dicta- 
tor even, — such were titles which he put aside. Had his been 
a vulgar ambition, he might have clutched at supreme power 
and played the part of Cromwell or Napoleon. But true to 
the example of Washington, and above all, true to himself and 
those just sentiments which belonged to his nature, he thought 
only of the good of all. Calmly looking down upon the form- 
less chaos, where ancient landmarks were heaving in confused 
mass, he sought to assuage the wide-spread tumult and to 
establish that divine tranquillity, which, like the repose of 
nature, is found only in harmony with law, — to the end that 
Human Rights, always sacred, should derive new force from the 
prevailing order. And this done, it was his precious desire to 
withdraw into the retirement of his home. 

The Constitution with its Declaration of the Rights of Man 
was at length proclaimed. Amidst unprecedented pomp, in 
a vast field, the Campus Martins of France, surrounded by 
delegates from all parts of the country and under the gaze of 
the anxious people gathered in uncounted multitudes, the King 
sitting upon his throne took his oath to support it. Lafayette 
as Major-General of the Federation did the same, while Na- 
tional Guard and people, by voice and outstretched hand, uni- 
ted in the oath. How faithfully he kept this oath, — true to the 
Constitution in all respects, — upliolding each department in its 
powers, — subduing violence, — watching the public peace, and 
for the sake of these, hazarding his good name with tlie people 
whose idol he was, — all this belongs to the history of France. 
Assured at length that the Revolution had accomplished its 
work, he caused an amnesty to be proclaimed and then deliber- 
ately laid down his great military power. Amidst the gratula- 
tions of his countrymen and votes of honor, he now withdrew 

* Memoires, Tome III, p. 71. 



2B 

to the bosom of his family at the home of his childhood. Un- 
happily this was for a too brief period. 

The emigrant nobles, with two brothers of the King, were 
gathering forces on the Rhenish frontier of France. Austria 
and Prussia had joined in coalition for the same hostile pur- 
pose. France was menaced ; but its new Government hurled 
three armies to meet the invaders. The army of the centre 
was placed under the command of Lafayette. At the mention 
of his name in the Assembly, there was an outburst of applause, 
and when he appeared at its bar, the President addressing him, 
said, " France will oppose to her enemies the Constitution and 
Lafayette." Little was then foreseen how soon afterwards both 
were to fall. 

A new influence was now showing itself. Danton and Robes- 
pierre were active. Clubs were organized, whose daily meet- 
ings lashed the people to lawless frenzy. Extreme counsels 
prevailed. Violence and outrage ensued. The Jacobins 
whose very name has become a synonym for counsellors of 
sedition, were beginning to be dominant. The Revolution was 
losing its original character. The faithful Lafayette, who had 
been its representative and its glory, — in whom its true gran- 
deur and humanity were all personified, — revolted at its 
excesses. From his camp he addressed a letter to the National 
Assembly denouncing the Jacobins as substituting license for 
liberty, and he followed this letter by gallantly appearing at 
the bar of the Assembly and there repeating his denunciation. 
But the Reign of Terror was near at hand, destined to fill 
France with darkness and send a shudder tlirough the world. 
After bloody conflict at the gates of the royal palace, the King 
and his Family were driven to seek protection in the bosom of 
the Assembly. The scaffold was not yet entirely ready. But 
the Constitution was overturned, and with it Lafayette. Doubly 
faithful, first to the oath he had taken, and then to his own supreme 
integrity, he denounced the audacious crime. He was then at 
the head of his army, but Jacobin liate had marked him as its 
victim. Shrinking from the horrors of civil contest, where suc- 
cess could be purchased only by the blood of fellow-citizens, ho 
resolved — sad alternative ! — to withdraw from his post and 
passing into neutral territory seek the United States, there 
from a distance to watch the storm which was desolating his 
own unhappy country. 

As his eminence was without precedent so also was his fall. 
Power, fortune, family, country, — all were suddenly changed 
for a dungeon, where, amidst cruel privations, for more than five 
years, he wore away life. But not in vain ; for who can listen 
to the story of his captivity without confessing new admiration 
for that sublime fidelity of principle which illumined his dun- 
geon ! 



23 

With a heart rent by anguish and darkened by the gathering 
clouds, Lafayette, accompanied by a few friends, left his array 
at Sedan. Traversing the frontier, in the hope of reaching 
Holland, he was seized and recognized by soldiers of the 
Royal Coalition, and then commenced the catalogue of indig- 
nities and hardships under which his soul seemed rather to rise 
than to bend. His application for a passport was answered by 
the jeer that his passport would be for the scaffold, while a mob 
of furious royalists sought to anticipate the executioner. The 
King of Prussia, hoping to profit from his growing debility, 
suggested that his situation would be improved in return for 
information against France. The patriot was aroused at this 
attempt on his character. " The king is impertinent," was his 
simple reply, while composing himself to the continued rigors 
which beset him. First immured at Wesel on the Rhine, he 
was next transported in a cart by a long journey, to the far- 
famed Magdeburg, where for a year he was plunged in a damp 
and subterranean dungeon, closed by four successive doors, all 
fastened by iron bolts and chains, when, on the separate peace be- 
tween Prussia and the French Republic, he was handed over to 
Austrian jailers, by whom he was transferred to Olmutz, an out- 
lying fortress then little known, but now memorable in history, 
on the eastern border of Austria, further east than the old castle 
which witnessed the imprisonment of Richard Coeur de Lion and 
the generous devotion of Blondel. Here his captivity was com- 
plete. Alone in his cell, — with no object in sight except the 
four walls, — shut out from all communication with the world, — 
shut out even from all knowledge of his family, who on their 
part could know nothing of him, — never addressed by name, — 
mentioned in the bulletins of the prison only by his number, — 
and to cut off all possible escape by self-destruction, deprived 
of knife and fork, — such was now his lot. If not a slave com- 
pelled to work without wages, he was even a more wretched 
captive. 

But never for one moment was his soul shaken in its life-long 
fidelity; never was his example more beautiful. At the begin- 
ning he was careful, by an official declaration, to make known 
his principles, so that he might not be confounded with fugitive 
royalists. Letters now exist, some written at the peril of life, 
at times with lemon juice and at times with a toothpick dipped 
in soot moistened with vinegar, in which his remarkable nature 
is laid bare. Confessing his joy that he suffers from that des- 
potism which he combated, rather than from the people he 
loved so well, he announces his equal hostility to the commit- 
tees of Jacobinism and the cabinets of the Coalition, — declares 
his firm conviction that amidst all the shocks of anarchy Lib- 
erty will not perish, — remembers with a thrill the anniversary 
of American Independence, as that day comes round, — says of 



his own Declaration of the Rights of Man, that if he were alone in 
the universe, he would not hesitate to maintain it, and repels with 
scorn every effort to vindicate him at the expense of his well- 
known sentimen-ts, declaring that, if he were on the scaffold, his 
first and last words should he " Liberty and Equality," while he 
cliarges all the wrongs, all the crimes, all the perils, all the suffer- 
ings of the Revolution upon the wretched departure from these 
sacred principles. Then addressing the Minister of the United 
States at London, he calls down a blessing upon our Republic, 
saying, May Liberty and Equality with all the virtues truly re- 
publican, honest industry, moderation, purity of manner, frank- 
ness and liberality of character, obedience to law, firmness 
against usurpation, continue to prove that American Freedom has 
its roots deep not only in the head but in the heart of its citizens! 
May the public prosperity, the happiness of individuals, and 
Federal concord be forever a recompense to the United States, 
and an example for other people ! But never did soul rise to 
purer heights than when, in his imprisonment, he dictated this 
consoling truth, as his legacy to mankind, that the satisfaction 
from a single service rendered to Humanity outweighs any suf- 
fering inflicted by enemies or even by the ingratitude of the peo- 
ple,* — and then forgetting all that he was called to undergo, his 
own personal afflictions and prolonged captivity, he sends his 
thoughts to the poor slaves on his distant plantation in Cayeime, 
whose emancipation he had sought to accomplish. Li the uni- 
versal wreck of his fortunes he knew not what had become of this 
plantation, but he trusts that his wife " will take care that the 
blacks who cultivate it preserve their liberty."! Search history, 
whether ancient or modern pages, — let Greece and Rome 
testify, but you can find nothing more sublimely touching than 
this voice from that heavy-bolted dungeon, serenely pleading 
for the liberty of others far away. That noblest woman, mated 
with him in soul as in marriage vow, had already exerted her- 
self to accomplish this purpose. But alas ! without effect. 
Cruelly was their liberty confiscated with his estates. :j: 

This confiscation, where Liberty itself disappeared, was the 
terrible climax of that proscription which now enveloped his 
friends and all his family. In the prevailing masquerade of 
blood the accusation of Fayettism was equivalent to a decree 
of death. Nor was tender women spared. The grandmother, 
the mother, and the sister of his wife, all of the same ducal 
house, perished on the scaffold. Twice his wife was thrown 
into prison, and only escaped the same fate by the timely over- 

♦ Memoires, Tome III, p. 412, 

t Ibid., Tome IV, p. 224. Lettre a Madame d'Henin, Magdeburg, 13 Mars, 
1793. Washiugtou's Writings, by Sparks, Vol. IX, p. 163, note ; Sparks's 
Life of Gouverneur Morris, Vol. I, p. 410. 

X Ibid., Tome III, pp. 72, 401. 



25 

throw of Robespierre. Her youthful son, George Washington 
Lafayette, was already sent by her care to his great namesake 
in America. At last, on her own liberation, after an impris- 
onment of eighteen months, accompanied by her daughters, 
and with the protection of an American passport, she makes her 
way across Germany to Vienna, where she throws herself before 
the Imperial despot. To her prayer for the release of her hus- 
band, he answers that " his hands are tied ; " but moved by her 
devotion, so womanly, so wifely, so heroic, he yields so far as to 
allow her, with her daughters, to share his wretched captivity. 
Penetrating his dungeon she learned that the first change of 
raiment he had been allowed was in consequence of her arrival, 
when the tattered rags which scarcely covered his emaciated 
form were exchanged for a garb of the coarsest material, an 
indulgence not accorded without the insult of informing him 
that this had been purposely sought, as with such alone was 
he worthy to be clothed.* These things are not to be forgotten, 
because, while exhibiting the cruelty of that despotic power 
against which the world now rises in judgment, they show 
how his fidelity was tried, as also that of his family. The wife 
becoming ill was refused permission to leave the dungeon for 
medical advice at Vienna, except on condition of not return- 
ing, when she beautifully declared for herself and daughters, 
that they had agreed to participate the rigors of his captivity, 
and they repeated with all their hearts^ that they were happier 
with him in the dungeon than they could be anywhere else 
without him. Lafayette himself, when tempted by offer of re- 
lease on certain conditions or promises, was as stern as his 
jailer, and refused inexorably, preferring to suffer rather than 
compromise in any respect his rights and duties as Frenchman 
or as an American citizen, which title he claimed. 

Vain, during this long period, were all efforts for his libera- 
tion. Not Fox, thundering in the British Parliament ; not 
the gentler voice of Wilberforce uniting with Pox ; not Corn- 
wallis, his old enemy at Yorktown, personally pleading with 
the Emperor himself ; not Washington, prompting our Ministers 
abroad and writing directly to the Emperor, could open these 
prison doors. Lafayette was declared to be a representative, not 
only of the French Revolution, but of Universal Enfranchisement, 
and his liberty was incompatible with the safety of European gov- 
ernments. Therefore must he be immured in a dungeon. But 
private enterprise, inspired by those generous promptings, 
which are the glory of the human heart, for a moment 
seemed about to prevail. The health of the imprisoned 
champion had suffered to such a degree, that, under medical 
direction, the rigors of confinement were so far relaxed, that 

* Speech of Mr. Fitzpatrick, Parliamentary History, Dec. 16tli, 1796. 

4 



26 

he was allowed occasional exercise in the open air. Here was 
an opportunity for which two friends, Bollman, a German, 
and Hnger, an American, of South Carolina, had watched 
for months, and they were able secretly to apprize the cap- 
tive of their plans. With their assistance, after a desperate con- 
flict, in which his hand was torn to the bone, he succeeded in 
disarming his guards, and then enjoyed a gleam of liberty. 
It was a gleam only. Helped on a horse, by one of his devoted 
friends, he started ; but ignorant of the way, and oppressed 
with fatigue, wounded, bleeding, after a flight of twenty-four 
hours, he was recaptured, brought back and plunged again 
into the worst torments of his dungeon. This endeavor, though 
unsuccessful, is never read without a gush of gratitude towards 
those brave men, who, taking life in hand, thus braved the 
Austrian tyranny. Human nature seems more beautiful from 
their example. 

All had now failed, and the dungeon seemed to have closed 
upon Lafayette forever. The hearts of his friends were wrung 
with anguish, and especially here in America. Washington, at 
the fireside of Mount Yernon, shed tears for his friend ; while 
to that noble wife, who in all things was not less faithful than 
her heroic husband, he wrote regretting that he had not words 
to convey an adequate idea of his feelings, and placing a consid- 
erable sum to her credit, which he was certain was the least he 
was indebted for services rendered him, of which he had never 
yet received an account.* But an intervention was at hand 
which would not be denied. It was the early sword of Napoleon 
Bonaparte, which flashing across the Alps from his Italian vic- 
tories, broke open the dungeon of Olmutz. Lafayette had been 
a captive five years ; his wife and daughters shut up with 
him twenty-two months. In the negotiations, ending in the 
treaty of Campo Formio, it was required under special instruc- 
tions from the French Directory, that he should be released, 
and the conqueror was afterwards heard to say that among 
all the sacrifices which he exacted of the tottering Empire, 
there was not one so difficult to obtain. But it was accom- 
plished, and the captive of many years, now at last in the 
enjoyment of Liberty, hastened to Hamburg, where he found 
welcome with the American consul. 

This was in the autumn of 1797, and he was now forty years 
of age ; but life with him, though brief in years, had been ex- 
tended by events, full of lessons never to be forgotten, — above 
all was that great lesson of perpetual fealty to Human Rights. 
And now tliis same lesson was illustrated again. As in dun- 
geon, so in exile, Lafayette could not forget the cause to which 
his life was devoted, especially the liberty of the African. From 

♦ Washington's Writings, by Sparks, "Vol. X, p. 315. 



27 

tlie obscure retreat, where he still Hngered, he addresses 
Clarkson, the English Abolitionist, in eloquent words, against 
the slave-trade, which was still the scandal of nations, and an- 
nounces that the mission of France, while healing tlie wounds 
of the past, should be to establish liberty for all, luhether white 
or black, under the equal protection of Law. Better far such 
mission than that of battle and conquest, which this ambitious 
nation preferred. In a letter to Washington at the same time, 
he gives utterance to his aspiration, that for the good of the 
world, the North and the South should gradually adopt the 
principles on which the Independence and the Liberty of the 
United States have been happily founded.* How in thinking 
of himself Lafayette thought also of the slave, appears in an 
incident of exile at this time. In the straightened circum- 
stances to which he was reduced, stripped of the wealth to 
which he was born, poor and homeless, his thoughts turned to 
the broad continent across the Atlantic, and he conceived the 
plan of buying a farm, — although without what he denom- 
inates "the first dollar" necessary, — either in Virginia, not 
far from what he calls the "Federal City," or in New 
England, not far from Boston, — and thus, in one of those 
tender letters to his wife, he balances between these two 
places. " I cannot disguise from you, my dear Adrienne," 
he writes to his wife under date of 5th August, 1799,f 
" that I who complain of the serfs in Holstein, where I now am, 
as something very melancholy to a friend of Liberty, should 
find in Virginia negro slaves ; for Equality, which in the North- 
ern States is for everybody, exists in the Southern States for 
the whites only. Therefore, while I perceive all the reasons, 
which should draw us near Mount Vernon, and the seat of the 
Federal Union, yet I should prefer New England." Never was 
the special difference between North and South stated more 
simply or conclusively. 

Regaining his country at last while the still subsisting out- 
lawry, though not formally annulled, had become a dead letter, 
he withdrew to the retirement of Lagrange, where, surrounded 
by his family, he maintained unsullied the integrity of his great 
character, — turning aside from all temptation and never for a 
moment swerving from completest devotion to that cause for 
wliich lie had done and suffered so much. Others accepted 
office and honor ; he would not. Bonaparte wished to make 
him Senator; Lafayette declined, as he afterwards declined the 
Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor from the same hand. Al- 
ways himself, he touched the key-note of his life, when in a 
brief address to his fellow-citizens, on refusing a post of dignity 

* Mt-moires, Tome IV, p. 432. 
t Ibid., Tome V, p. 71. 



28 

in 1802, he announced his hope, that the miracles of battle, 
then surprising them, miglit be followed, not only by peace 
abroad, but by domestic tranquillity founded on the immutable 
principles of Justice. But at no moment does he seem more 
exemplary in firmness than when, on the proposition that Bona- 
parte should be Consul for life he openly voted " No," and 
added with his vote, " I cannot vote for such a magistracy until 
Liberty has been sufficiently guaranteed." In a noble letter on 
this occasion he pleads with the successful warrior for the re- 
establishment of Liberty, saying that all things combine to fit 
him for this great work, which shall subdue danger and calm 
distrust. Bonaparte did not hearken to these words of patriot 
wisdom, but drove still further in his mad career. Lafayette, 
withdrawing yet more into the repose of private life, avoided 
a contest, which he foresaw must be futile with a ruler to whom 
he was under obligations, which he never ceased to acknowl- 
edge. 

But it was not in his nature to despair. In reply to President 
Jefferson who, in 1804, had sounded him on coming to Amer- 
ica, with the view of being Governor of Louisiana, saying that 
his presence alone would be better for the tranquillity of the 
country than ten thousand men, Lafayette avowed his unwill- 
ingness to take a step that should seem to abandon the desti- 
nies of his own country, which he confidently hoped to see 
established on the foundation of a just and generous Liberty ; 
in one word, an American Liberty. 

While in retreat he was visited by temptation in yet another 
form, and again his fidelity appears as on other occasions. By 
the act of Congress repaying in part the accumulated debt of 
the Nation, he had became proprietor of a large territory in 
Louisiana, to which in his reduced condition he naturally 
looked for means. Persons familiar with the country advised 
him to set up a manufacture of tiles, promising from it 
what he so much desired, " a fixed revenue," but he dismissed 
the proposition, as " founded upon a purchased employment of 
thirty slaves" — " a thing," said he, " / detest and shall never 
do," and then, after expressing his wish that in letting the land 
there should be " a first condition to employ none but free 
hands, or if negroes of New Orleans be admitted to stipulate 
their liberty in a short time," he proceeds to say in memorable 
words : " I would not be concerned in transactions in a negro 
country, unless not only my personal doings were unsullied ivith 
slavery^ but I had provided with others to render the very spot 
productive of freedom y* This was in 1805, before the slave- 
trade was yet abolished, and when Slavery was just beginning 

* Letter to Mr. Madison, 22(i April, 1805, MS. 



29 

its fatal empire over our Republic. But it was only part of 
that faithful testimony which he bore so constantly. 

Such a character was a constant protest, and Napoleon in 
the pride of colossal power confessed it. Sou and son-in-law, 
though distinguished, could not obtain promotion — the Emperor 
himself on one occasion erasing their names, with the tyrannical 
ejaculation, " These Lafayettes cross my path everywhere." 
At another time he disclosed the true reason : " Lafayette 
alone in France," said he, " holds fast to his original ideas 
of Liberty. Though tranquil now he will re-appear if occasion 
offers." Stronger homage to greatest fidelity could not 
be. He was tranquil, through all the splendid agony of the 
Empire, its marvellous conquests and its marvellous disasters, 
— tranquil at the victories of Austerlitz, Jena, Friedland, and 
Wagram, at the retreat from Moscow, at the stunning news 
from Leipsic, at the capitulation of Paris. As little could he 
participate in the restoration of Louis as in the usurpation of 
Napoleon. But at last he re-appeared. It was at the return 
from Elba, hazarding that peace purchased at such sacrifice, 
when at once, by characteristic action in harmony with his 
whole career, his present was linked with his past, and the 
chief of the Old Revolution declining again the honors of the 
Senate and the title of Count, declaring tliat if he ever 
again entered public life it niust.be as representative of the 
people, came forward as simple deputy, saying, with happy 
phrase, that his effort should be directed " to make the Cham- 
ber a representation of the French people, and not a Napoleon 
club." Tlie disaster of Waterloo hastened the impending 
crisis. The Emperor menaced a ditsolution of the Chamber 
and a dictatorship. The time had come for the hero of Liberty, 
He spoke, and with a voice that had been silent for a genera- 
tion bravely recalled the sacred cause of which he was the 
veteran, and that tricolor flag, which was the symbol of Liberty, 
Equality, and Public Order. On his motion the Chamber de- 
clared itself permanent, and any attempt to dissolve it treason. 
And then, while vindicating France against the imputalion of 
fickleness tovvards the Emperor, whom it had followed over un- 
counted fields from the sands of Egypt to the snows of Russia, 
the Puritan of Liberty insisted upon his abdication. But true 
alwajs to every just sentiment of gratitude and humanity, he 
scorned Ihe idea of surrendering the fallen man to the allies, 
saying "such a proposition should not be addressed to the 
prisoner of Olmutz," and he sought to provide means for escape 
to America, showing to him every consideration consistent with 
duty to his country. 

The fall of Napoleon was followed by the restoration of the 
Bourbons to the throne of France, lasting from 1815 to 1880, 
and, during much of this period Lafayette, released from all 



30 

constraint, was member of the Chamber of Deputies. The 
King, who had known him personally in early life, trembled at 
his election. As he entered the Chamber for the first time 
every eye turned to him, and every tongue pronounced his 
name with, admiration, hope or fear; nor was any member 
observed afterwards with equal interest. He took his seat on 
the extreme left, and always preserved it. His attendance was 
marked by that fidelity which belonged to his nature ; nor did 
advancing years or any disgust interfere with the constant and 
unwearied discharge of his parliamentary duties. Here as 
everywhere he was open, sincere and brave. Overtopping 
others in character, he was conspicuous also in debate. Though 
not a rhetorician, he spoke with ease and effect, while all that 
he said had the inspiration of noble ideas, often expressed with 
sententious force. Especially was he aroused whenever Liberty 
came in question ; nor did the disasters which had fallen upon 
him and his house, or any other consideration, make him hesi- 
tate to vindicate the Revolution, alike in its substantial results 
and in its principles. " Amidst drawbacks," he said, " the 
incontestable truth is established, that agriculture, industry, 
public instruction, the comfort and independence of three 
quarters of the population, and public morals, have been im- 
proved to a degree of which there is no example in any equal pe- 
riod of history, or in any other part of the old world."* With 
brilliant effect he portrayed the wrongs and abuses which had 
disappeared before what he fondly called the flag of Liberty, 
Equality and Public Order. f And he attributed the evils of 
France, less to the madness of violence than to the compro- 
mises of conscience by timid men. Li the same lofty spirit he 
denounced the Holy Alliance as " a vast and powerful league, 
whose object was to enslave and degrade the human race. "J 
By such utterances were the people schooled and elevated. 
That inspiration, which was his own inner light, he imparted to 
others. 

His Parliamentary career was interrupted by an episode 
which belongs to the poetry of history. On the unanimous 
invitation of the Congress of the United States he visited again 
the land whose Independence he had helped to secure. This 
was in 1824. Forty years had passed since he was last here. 
But throughout this long period of a life transcendent in 
activities and privations, as well as in fame, he had turned with 
fondness to the scene of his early consecration and proudly 
avowed himself American in heart and American in principle. 
His early compeers were all numbered with the dead, and he 

* Memoires, Tome VI, p. 51. 

t Ibid. p. 83. 

j Biographie Universelle (Michaud), article, Za/ayeWe. 



31 

was sole survivor among the generals of Washington. But 
the people had multiplied, and the country had grown in wealth 
and power. All rose to meet his coming, and he was welcomed 
everywhere as the Nation's guest. To the inquiry on his land- 
ing at New York, how he would be addressed, he said " as an 
American General," thus discarding again the title of his birth. 
From beginning to end, men and women, young and old, 
official bodies, towns, cities. States, Congress, all vied in testi- 
monies of devotion and gratitude, while the children of the 
schools, boys and maidens, swelled the incomparable holiday, 
which, stretching from North to South, and covering the whole 
country, absorbed for the time every difference, and made all 
feel as children of one household. The strong and universal 
sentiment found expression in familiar words, repeated every- 
where : 

We bow not the neck, 

We bend not the knee, 

But our hearts, Lafayette, 

We surrender to thee. 

It belongs to the glory of Lafayette, that he inspired this senti- 
ment, and it belongs to the glory of our country to have felt it. 
As there was never such a guest, so was there never such a 
host. They were alike without parallel. But amidst this 
most touching hospitality, binding him by new ties, he kept the 
loyalty of his heart. He did not forget the African slave.* 

The visit was full of memorable incidents sometimes most 
touching, among which I select one now Httle known. At one 
of those receptions, which took place wherever the National 
guest appeared, a veteran of the Revolution, in his original 
Continental uniform, with the addition of a small blanket, or 
rather a piece of blanket, upon his shoulders, and with his an- 
cient musket which had seen service on many fields, came for- 
ward, and drawing himself up in the stiff manij^er of the old- 
fashioned drill, made a military salute, which Lafayette returned 
at once with affection, tears starting to his eyes, for he remem- 
bered well that uniform and saw that an old soldier, more ven- 
erable than himself in "years, stood before him. "Do you 
know me? "said the soldier, for the manner of the General 
persuaded him that he was personally remembered, although 
nearly fifty years had passed since their service together. " In- 
deed, I cannot remember you," the General replied frankly. 
" Do you remember the frosts and snows of Valley Forge ? " 
" I can never forget them," said Lafayette. The veteran then 
related that one freezing night, as the General went his rounds, 
he came upon a sentry thinly clad, with shoes of raw cowhide 

* Memoires, Tome VI, pp. 185, 220. There is also a correspondence with 
Col. Seaton of the " National Intelligencer " on this interesting subject. 



32 

and without stockings, on the point of perishing with cold.; 
that he took the musket of the sentry, saying to him, " Go to 
my hut ; you will find stockings there and a blanket, which, 
after warming yourself, you will bring here ; meanwhile give 
me your musket and I will keep guard." "I obeyed," the vet- 
eran continued, " and returning to my post refreshed, you cut 
the blanket in two, retaining one-half and giving me the other 
half. Here, General, is one-half of that blanket, and I am the 
sentry whose life you saved." By such tribute, in unison with 
the universal popular heart, was the triumph of our benefactor 
carried beyond that of any Roman proudly ascending the Cap- 
itol with the spoils of war. 

And this might have been the crown even of his exalted life. 
But at home in France there was yet further need for his ser- 
vices. In the madness of tyranny, Charles the Tenth under- 
took by arliitrary ordinance to trample on popular rights and 
to subvert the very Charter under which he held his Crown. 
The people were aroused. The streets of Paris were filled with 
barricades. France was heaving again as in other days. Then 
turned all eyes to the patriarch of Lagrange, who already hero 
of two revolutions, commanded confidence alike by his principles 
and his bravery. Summoned from his retreat, he repaired 
without delay to Paris, imparting instant character to the 
movement. With a few devoted friends about him — one of 
whom is a dear and honored friend of my own. Dr. Howe of 
Boston — this venerable citizen, seventy-three years of age, ex- 
posed to all the perils of the conflict hotly raging in the streets 
between the people and the troops, was conducted on foot across 
barricades to the Hotel de Ville, and, once more placed at the 
head of the National Guard. " Liberty shall triumph," said the 
veteran, " or we will all perish together." Charles the Tenth 
ceased to reign and the Revolution of 1830 was accomplished. 
The fortunes ^f France were now in the hands of Lafayette. 
He was again what Madame de Stael had called him at an earlier 
day, master of events. It rested with him to choose. He 
might have made a Republic, of which he would have been 
acknowledged head. But cautious of Public Order, which with 
him was next to Liberty, — mindful of that moderation which 
he had always cultivated, and unwilling, if Liberty were safe, 
to provoke a civil contest, and drench France again in fraternal 
blood, he proposed " a popular throne surrounded by republican 
institutions," and the Duke of Orleans, under the name of 
Louis Pliilippe, became king. Clearly his own preference was 
for a Republic on the American model, but he yielded this 
cherished idea, satisfied that at last Liberty was established, 
while peace was assured to his blood-stained country. If this 
failed in any way, it was because, against high injunction, he 
had put his trust in princes. 



38 

The loftiness of his character was revealed when, at a menace 
of violence by the excited populace he issued a general order, 
as commander of the National Guard, announcing himself as 
" the man of liberty and public order, loving popularity more 
than life, but determined to sacrifice both rather than fail 
in any duty and tolerate a crime, — persuaded that no end 
justifies means which public or private morals disown." * 
Soon again he laid down his great command, contenting him- 
self with his farm and his duties as representative. But his 
heart was wherever Liberty was struggling, now with the 
Pole and then with the African slave. To the rights of 
the latter he had borne an early and unfailing loyalty, — 
at all times and in all places, beginning with that remark- 
able appeal to Washington at the consummation of Independ- 
ence, and repeated in his two triumphal visits to our coun- 
try, — also in public debate, — in conversation, — in correspond- 
ence, — in his interesting experiment at Cayenne, and more 
affecting still from the dungeon of arbitrary power. Every slave, 
according to him, has a natural right to immediate emancipa- 
tion, either by concession or by force ; and this principle he 
declared above all question. f He knew no distinction of color, 
as appeared constantly. His first letter to President Adams, 
after his return from his American triumph, mentions that he 
had just dined in the company of two commissioners from 
Hayti, one a mulatto, and the other entirely black, and he was 
" well-pleased with their good sense and good manners." J 
Tenderly he touched this great question in our own country ; 
but the constancy with which he did, shows how it haunted 
and perplexed him, like a sphinx with a perpetual riddle. He 
could not understand how men who had fought for their own 
Liberty could deny Liberty to others. But he did not despair, 
although on one occasion, when this inconsistency glared upon 
him, his impatient philanthrophy exclaimed that he would 
never have drawn his sword for America, had he known that it 
was to found a Government sanctioning slavery. 

The time had come for this great life to close. A sudden 
illness, contracted in following the funeral of a colleague on 
foot, confined him to his bed. As his case became critical, the 
Chamber of Deputies, by solemn vote — perhaps without 
example in parliamentary history — directed their President to 
inquire of George Washington Lafayette after the health of 
his illustrious parent. On the following day, 20th May, 1834, 
he died, aged 77. 

* Ordre du Jour du, 19 Decembre, 1830. 

t Memoires, Tome VI, p. 159, Lettre a Clarkson, 11 Mai, 1823. 

X Ibid , p. 222. 



34 

The ruling passion of his life was strong to the last. As at 
the beginning, so at the end, he was all for Human Rights. 
This ruled his mind and filled his heart His last public speech 
was in behalf of political refugees seeking shelter in France 
from the proscription of arbitrary power. The last lines traced 
by his hand, even after the beginning of his fatal illness, 
attest his joy at that great act of Emancipation by which Eng- 
land had just given freedom to her slaves. " Nobly," he 
wrote, '• has the public treasure been employed."* And these 
last words still resound in our ears, speaking from his tomb. 



Such was Lafayette. At the tidings of his death, there was 
mourning in two hemispheres, and the saying of Pericles seemed 
to be accomplished, that the whole earth is the sepulchre of 
the illustrious man. It was felt that one had gone whose place 
was among the great names of history, combining the double 
fame of hero and martyr, heightened by the tenderness of per- 
sonal attachment and gratitude ; nor could such example 
belong to France or America only ! Living for all, his renown 
became the common property of the whole Human Family. 
The words of the poet were revived : 

Ne'ei- to those chambers where the mighty rest 
Since their foundation came a nobler guest ; 
Nor e'er was to the bowers of bliss conveyed 
A fairer spirit or more welcome shade. 

Judge him by the simple record of his life, and you will con- 
fess his greatness. Judge him by the motives of his conduct, 
and you will bend witli reverence before him. More than any 
other man in history he is the impersonation of Liberty. His 
face is radiant with its glory, as his heart was filled with its 
sweetness. His was that new order of greatness destined soon 
to displace the old. Peculiar and original, he was without 
predecessors. Many will come after him, but there were none 
before him. He was founder, inventor, poet, as much as if he 
had built a city, discovered ether, or composed an epic. On 
his foundation all mankind will build ; by his discovery all will 
be aided ; through his epic all will be uplifted. Early and 
intuitively he saw man as brother, and recognized the equal 
rights of all. Especially was he precocious in asserting the 
equal rights of the African slave. His original devotion to 
Humanity against all obstacles was ennobled by that marvel- 
lous constancy and uprightness, which from early youth to the 
tomb of venerable years made him always the same, — in 
youth showing the firmness of age, and in age showing the 

* Memoires, Tome VI, p. 763. 



35 

ardor of youth, — ever steady when others were fickle, ever 
faithful when others were false, — holding cheap all that 
birth, wealth, or power could bestow, — renouncing even the 
favor of fellow-citizens which he loved so well, — content 
with virtue as his only nobility, — and whether placed on the 
dazzling heights of worldly ambition, or plunged in the depths 
of a dungeon, always true to the same great principles and 
making even his dungeon the witness of his unequalled fidelity. 

By the side of such sublime virtue what were his eminent 
French contemporaries ? What was Mirabeau, with life sullied 
by impurity and dishonored by a bribe ? What was Talley- 
rand, with heartless talent devoted to his own personal success ? 
What was Robespierre, with impracticable endeavors baptized 
in blood ? What was Napoleon himself, whose surpassing 
powers to fix fortune by profound combinations, or to seize it 
with irresistible arm, were debased by the brutality of selfish- 
ness ? Such are the four chief characters of the Revolution, 
already dropping from the firmament as men learn to appre- 
ciate those principles by which Humanity is advanced. Lafay- 
ette ascends as they disappear, while the world begins to hail 
that Universal Enfranchisement which he served so well. Clearly 
he foresaw the mighty triumph, and when this is at last 
achieved, immense will be his reward among men. 

Great he was indeed, — not as author, although he has writ- 
ten what we are glad to read, — not as orator, although he has 
spoken much and well, — not as soldier, although he displayed 
both bravery and military genius, — not even as statesman, 
versed in the science of government, although he saw intu- 
itively the relations of men to government. Nor did his sym- 
pathetic nature possess the power always to curb the passions 
of men or to hurl the bolts by which wickedness is driven back. 
Not on these accounts is he great. Call him less a force than 
an influence, — less " king of men " than servant of Humanity, 
— his name is destined to be a spell beyond that of any king, 
while it shines aloft like a star. Great he is as one of 
earth's benefactors, who possessed in largest measure that best 
gift from God to man, the genius of beneficence sustained to the 
last by perfect honesty ; great too he is as an early, constant 
Republican, who saw the beauty and practicability of Republi- 
can Institutions as the expression of a true civilization, and 
uphold them always ; and great he is as example, whicli, so 
long as history endures, must inspire author, orator, soldier 
and statesman, all alike to labor and, if need be, to suffer for 
Human Rights. The fame of such a character, brightening 
with the Progress of Humanity, can be measured only by 
the limits of a world's gratitude. 



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